The Cherry on Top
by CassandraCousland
Summary: Emma is the owner of a popular yet struggling little bakery. Killian is a corporate exec representing a company that wants to buy out her store. Emma is against it, of course, but she can't stop thinking about that pompous ass in the dark grey suit. Captain Swan AU. AU created by tumblr user OncerTwice!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey! I'm a tumblr-based fanfictioner, so these are all from my tumblr blog **

**I update there hella faster than here, so if you want to see chapters sooner, you should go follow me and keep an eye out! **

**Reviews are extra appreciated and be sure to follow this fic if you can't wait for more!**

* * *

Emma shoved on her mitts and quickly opened the oven, taking out her batch of muffins and slamming the oven's door shut. "Arrgh!" she cried out, her blonde locks drifting in front of her face as she leaned against the counter.

From the other side of the serving hatch, Mary Margaret lifted her head out of her magazine. "Everything okay in there, Emma?"

Emma sighed and wiped her hands on a towel which she then used to whip at the air, swooshing away the smell of burned muffin. "No, everything is not okay!" she grumbled. "I burned the Banana Nut muffins for Belle's brunch tomorrow." They were going to be_ so_ good, too.

Mary Margaret set down her magazine next to the register and walked into the kitchen. "Here, let me help," she offered, grabbing her own towel.

Emma shook her head. "No no it's fine, I've got this," she replied, waving her away.

"Good grief, Emma, let me help you out! You've been so stressed lately, you could at least accept aid when it's given to you- and anyways, what else are you paying me for?" Mary Margaret leaned against the counter behind her and folded her arms across her chest. She was pouting. Wonderful. Pouting was Emma's weakness.

Emma sighed again and looped the towel around the stove handle. "Look, I'm sorry, there's just been a lot of stuff going on lately. Financial stuff." She emerged from the kitchen with her tray and started collecting the excess pastries no one had bought that day so she could get rid of them. It was always her favorite part of the day. She loved taking the baked treats home- especially the apple turn-overs which were her favorite.

Mary Margaret followed her out and helped unlock all of the cases. Cue Ruby's entrance with the front door's loud, chiming bell.

Wearing a bright red leather jacket with a black skirt and denim leggings came Ruby, the part-time waitress, full-time diva. Well, that was exaggerating. "Hey guys!" she greeted cheerfully. In her hand was a tiny flyer. "I just found out about this new club opening just down the street from our apartment, Ems! We should check it out tonight!"

Emma let out a groan. "Ruby, can't you see the sign? It says closed. Closed means closed!"

Ruby made a 'pfffbbt' noise and sat down at the counter. "Whatever. I'm here all the time, you know me."

Mary Margaret let out a short laugh. "It's true. Maybe one day you can pick up a broom and Emma can actually pay you for the time you spend here."

"As if!" Ruby snorted.

Ruby was Emma's room-mate and, despite their differences, very close friend. Along with Mary Margaret, the three made a very odd group of buddies.

Hearing the mention of money made Emma's stress levels spike. Just what she needed.

"Hey, everything okay, Emma?" Ruby asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

Emma pretended not to know what she meant. "Hm? What? Yeah! Yes, of course," she replied. Mary Margaret shook her head and started wiping down the counter.

Ruby made a clicking sound with her tongue. "You know I have a sixth sense about this stuff, right? I can tell when something's up." There was a pause where she seemed to be thinking intently about something else. "Speaking of sixth senses- did you know that there are studies claiming that the blind can actually see! Weird, huh?"

"Yes, super weird, let's continue talking about that!" Emma urged cheerfully.

"Hey now-!" Ruby scolded. "Just because I have a tendency to get off-topic doesn't mean you can use it against me!"

Lucky for her, Emma was saved by the door's bell. In came David Nolan, Mary Margaret's long-term boyfriend.

Emma rolled her eyes. "C'mon, man, I spent money on that closed sign!" she whined. She was glad though for another excuse to avoid Ruby's penetrating stare.

David turned around and looked at the closed sign as if he'd just noticed it. When he turned back he shrugged. "Sorry, Emma, I'm here to pick up Mary Margaret." He turned to his girlfriend and raised his eyebrows. "Are you ready to go?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "Yes, let me just grab my purse." Once she had her purse in hand, she started walking out, the usual cheesy grin plastered on her face. "See you tomorrow, Emma!" she called from behind her.

Emma nodded and waved before continuing about her business.

"So- about that club?" Ruby prodded.

"Not tonight, Ruby. I've got some things to handle."

"What things?"

"Just- stuff! Gosh!"

"Fine, be stubborn. Whatever. Not like I care," Ruby huffed, crossing her arms.

"Sorry, there are just some things I need to keep to myself. I know we share a lot of stuff but this is just- I can't talk about it."

It was silent as Emma worked clearing out her shelves. Ruby peered over her friend's shoulder, licking her lips. "Hey, any extras that you'd be willing to donate to a good cause?"

"What cause would that be? Ruby's ever-empty stomach?"

"Good guess! I was actually thinking Ruby's midnight-binge-eating-madness!"

"Is that what happened to all my cupcakes the other week?" Emma asked, making her sad-puppy face.

Ruby's eyes widened and she looked for some sort of distraction, finding Mary Margaret's forgotten magazine to be sufficient. "Oops," she said innocently, opening to a random page and hiding behind it.

Emma rolled her eyes again and continued her job- but just before she could finish, the bell rang a third time.

"For the love of god! Do people not know how to read?" she exclaimed, dropping her tray on the counter with a loud clang. She leaned forward on her elbows and rubbed her temples with her eyes shut. "I should stop forgetting to lock the door," she said with a low moan.

"Pardon the intrusion, but I was hoping to buy a turn-over- and perhaps your shop." The surprisingly sexy Irish accent made Emma's eyes shoot open and her head rise.

"Uh- uh- uh," she started, staring at the two men standing in front of her door. They were both gorgeous, wearing tight, carefully-ironed suits that seemed to scream _'Underneath here are the hardest abs and most toned pecks you'll ever come close to!'_ She had to take a moment to process the words, and when she finally did, she furrowed her brow. "_Excuse_ _me?_"

Ruby, who was also staring, turned back to Emma and whispered, "Don't look now, but two fine pieces of tail just came in!" Then she looked over at the men again and grinned. "Hey," she greeted cooly with a nod in in their direction.

One of the men, the one without the accent, nodded back. "Hey," he replied- also cooly.

Emma scoffed and started preparing accent-guy's turn-over; she felt somewhat obliged to serve a paying customer. God knows she needed the money. There was only one flavor left: apple. _Why do bad things happen to good people?_ she thought sadly as she watched the treat she wanted to take home drown in waxed paper.

The accent guy started walking over towards Emma. "Pardon my manners. My name is Killian Jones and this is my business partner, Victor Whale. My company's heard word your business is having a spot of trouble. We came to help," he explained with a charming smile. "It's sort of what we do."

Emma tried to appear unphased as she packed away the pastries. Instead she came off as a little panicked. "Trouble? I don't know what you mean. There hasn't been any trouble. How would you know that? Who told you? There's no trouble."

Killian leaned forward on the counter in front of Emma, blocking her, and folded his hands. "Ms. Swan- can I call you Emma?" Emma shook her head no but he ignored her. "This is very serious, Emma. You're running low on funds and your little bakery, while loved by many, won't make it through this troubling financial time. After all..." He looked around the shop. "...how much do you expect to make selling baked goods?" He turned his palms up in the air in a sort of half-shrug.

Emma stopped what she was doing and looked him square in the eye. "I ought to slap you," she said, forcing her face into a grim expression. It was difficult.

He made a face as though he'd been hit. "Ooh, Emma, you never stuck me as the naughty sort but..." He raised his eyebrows. Ruby giggled somewhere behind him.

Emma was blushing but tried to act natural. She groaned and made a small fist which she pressed against the cold marble. "Look, _Mr. Jones_," she started spitefully, "I'm not in it for the money. I do this because I love it."

He nodded agreeably, taking a bite of the turn-over that he had snatched out of the paper. "That may be so, Swan, but no matter how much you love it, all good things must come to an end," he said with his mouth full. "Speaking of which, I'll be very sad when I've finished this- it's absolutely delightful. Such a shame it won't pay all the bills."

That was a little cruel.

Emma narrowed her eyes, putting on her most serious face. She couldn't help but think, _Damn is he hard to resist- no wonder he's got a job in business_. Her inner dialogue was much different from her outer dialogue, though. "You think you can come in here and talk me into selling my business? Just like that? With your bright teeth, tidy briefcase-"_ perfect stubble, tight suit, hot accent,_ "- and clever wording?" Killian seemed to think so as he nodded with his lips sucked in and cheeks puffed out. "Well you better think I again. I put my sweat and blood into this business-"

"-Oh goodness I hope not," he commented.

She ignored him, "-and I'll be damned if I lose it to a bunch of money bags in cheap looking suits-"

"-_Cheap_? You wound me, Emma-"

"-who don't know the difference between 'open' and 'closed'!"

"-Well to be fair the door was unlocked."

Emma couldn't believe this. Who did this man, and his assistant or whatever, think they were? They weren't getting anything. "God, just- just get out of here!"

Killian backed away and held his arms up in surrender. "Fine, Ms. Swan. Have it your way. We'll get out of your hair. But..." he reached into his suit jacket's pocket slowly, Emma following his hand unintentionally, "...should you ever find yourself in need, whether it be for my company's aid or... my company, here is my card," he finished, pulling out the card and holding it between his index and middle finger with a gracious smile.

Emma wanted to snatch the card out of his hand and tear it in half, but instead she left him hanging and watched as he nodded, made a clicking noise with his tongue, and placed it on the countertop.

"Well, Victor, let's make our exit, shall we?" he called.

Emma put her hands on her hips and started nodding with energy. "Yeah, yeah! Ruby, could you help me show these _gentlemen_ to the door?"

Neither of them were graced with a response. They both twisted their heads in the directions of their _partners_ who were too busy eye-sexing and flirting to pay them any mind.

"Ruby!" "Victor!" they both snapped at the same time.

Ruby seemed to snap out of her trance first. She stood up, cleared her throat, and held out her arms to gesture that they leave. "Thank you very much for visiting our humble establishment. May the rest of your day be filled with sunshine, rainbows, and never-ending conga-lines of unicorns," she recited in an over-enthusiastic and perky voice.

Emma nodded in approval, shooting Ruby two thumbs up from where she stood behind Killian. That was the somewhat passive aggressive speech given to patrons they had to politely kick out.

Victor stood up and straightened his suit jacket, nodding at Killian. "Alright, then. I'm ready to go if you are!"

Killian shook his head and shoved his way past Victor, slapping five dollars on a table in the corner. "For the turn-over," he grunted, leaving immediately after.

Victor sighed and followed his co-worker. Before he left, he shot Ruby a wink, which she returned.

"What was that about?" Emma wondered, remembering her mental note and locking the door. "Why are you flirting with _the enemy_?"

Ruby shrugged. "He was hot- and nice. Excuse me if I like my guys fancy and friendly. And anyways, I don't work here. He's not _my_ enemy," she pointed out.

Emma tilted her head to the side and looped her arm through Ruby's. "Maybe not, but you're Team Baked-Goods! And Team Baked-Goods is currently playing a round with Team Monopolizing Hotties," she explained dramatically. "Therefore, they are your enemy."

Ruby smirked. "Whatever, Emma. Let's just head home."

Emma put on her jacket, grabbed the tray of left-overs and unlocked the door. As she and Ruby made their way down the street, Ruby hip-bumped her friend.

"So, how about that accent-guy? Pretty sexy, eh?"

"Accent-guy? That's what I was calling him!"

"Don't change the subject!"

"Whoops! Oh look- a new chocolate shop!"

"What? Where?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey! I'm a tumblr-based fanfictioner, so these are all from my tumblr blog **

**I update there hella faster than here, so if you want to see chapters sooner, you should go follow me and keep an eye out! **

**Reviews are extra appreciated and be sure to follow this fic if you can't wait for more!**

* * *

Emma's fifth story apartment was filled with the tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee. On the counter was her "gourmet" cereal served with nothing less than the highest quality of skim milk.

Ruby trudged into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Mornin'," she yawned, pulling her bowl of cereal off the counter and falling back into the chair at their dining table.

"Hey, Ruby," Emma replied. She also sounded tired, but not in the same way Ruby did.

"How is everything going?" Ruby asked absent-mindedly, dumping an unholy amount of sugar in her coffee and stirring it with a limp arm.

"Not good. My... uhm..." Emma wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. Then she grabbed her coffee and sat across from Ruby at the table. "My building's landlord is raising the rent again," she continued explaining. "I don't think I'll be able to make enough of a profit from the bakery to make a living."

Ruby yawned. "You- you know what you need?" she started sleepily.

"Hmm?" Emma wasn't really paying attention. When Ruby was tired she never made any sense.

"You need some live entertainment. Hey, have you seen my- my um..." Ruby snapped her fingers. The process of trying to recall something seemed to wake her up a little. "My hairbrush! It wasn't in the bathroom."

Emma shook her head. "I thought I saw it in your purse. I-" She stopped. "Wait."

Ruby looked up from her cereal, chewing as she stared wide-eyed at her friend. "What?" she asked after no response, her mouth full of corn flakes.

Emma set down her coffee and traced the rim of her mug with her index finger. "What was that you said about live entertainment?"

Ruby shrugged. "I just mean that your bakery is pretty... well... static. There's no reason to really stay there and hang-out. And since the place is generally empty it doesn't look that... interesting."

"I don't think that's how it works."

"Hear me out, Ems," Ruby said with slight enthusiasm. She was awake now. "Let's say you hire someone to play a gig at your shop. They have a group of friends who plan to come and support them. The friends get there, hang around, buy some food, and take in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, people outside notice there's a little crowd in your shop. Suddenly it's not just another grey building on a busy Manhattan street- it's a lively, unique organism!-"

"-Organism?"

"Yes! Organism!" Ruby was picking up energy now, bouncing in her seat like an excited child. "Now people are curious about what's going on. They check their watches. They're not in a rush- it's Saturday! Most of them have very few plans at 2pm unless they need to visit the dentist. Or unless they're British. Or maybe if they-"

"Ruby! Get to the point!" Emma interrupted, snapping her room-mate back to the topic at hand.

"Right- sorry. So people come inside and check it out. They skim your shelves of pastries, find the one that tickles their taste buds the most, and then stay for the show. Then everyone goes home and tells their friends about the place! Next thing you know your guests are multiplying! And who knows! Maybe one day one of your musicians will catch the eye of a passing agent and hit the bigtime. Then they'll tell some people where they got started, and when word gets out musicians will be dying to play at your bakery!" Ruby took a sip of her coffee with pride and then gagged. "Holy shit that's a lot of sugar!" she croaked, getting up to pour the abomination in the sink.

Emma shook her head. "That sounds great, Ruby- in theory. But my bakery is just that. A bakery. With some tables and chairs. It's not a music cafe where people are supposed to chill out. And anyways there are still a lot of other factors to take into consideration. For example, where will I get the money to pay the musician? What if they don't have a group of friends to support them? What if people actually do have plans at 2pm on a Saturday? What if-"

"What if, what if, what if," Ruby scoffed, waving Emma's doubts away. "If it really bothers you that much I'll find you a volunteer so you can test the Multiplication Theory first."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "The Multiplication Theory? You really just named it?"

Ruby nodded and stuck out her chin. "And why not?"

Emma shook her head quickly and looked down at her coffee. "Nothing, nothing."

Ruby stood by the kitchen counter. "As for the whole cafe deal- you might need to think about turning it into a place where people can spend time. If you don't look busy, people are going to, unfortunately, think you aren't successful. And if they don't think you're successful, they're going to think you're some back-alley wannabe."

Emma rolled her eyes, knowing Ruby would not let the idea go. "Fine. I'll consider it. But-!" she cut in before her roomie could get too excited. I'm not getting your free-wifi!" Ruby pouted with discouraged whine. After a moment of silence Emma licked her lips and watched her friend pour a new cup of joe. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

Ruby bobbed her head from side-to-side in thought. "Maybe," she replied with a shrug as she concentrated on putting the perfect amount of sugar in her drink.

Emma rolled her eyes and pressed, "Who?"

"There's this guy I know who works at the last restaurant I waited for. He's been trying to get a musical career started for years but it never really worked out. He's a hottie, too. He'll definitely attract a lot of single female customers- which will then attract single male customers-!" Ruby clapped her hands in realization. "I have a new addition to my theory!" she cheered, racing to her bedroom. "I've got to start writing these things down!"

Emma smirked and finished the last of her coffee, grabbing her coat and heading out the door.

"Pewwww!"

Killian let out a low grumble when a paper airplane crashed into his left temple.

"Haha! Did you see that? Perfect aim!" Victor whooped, spinning back around in his chair.

"Would you please refrain from that, Whale? I'm trying to work!" Killian growled, rubbing his temple.

Victor smiled. "Don't be such a fart, Killy-man. You've done nothing but brood all day." He paused and his voice took a very serious change. "I remember a time..." he started dramatically, "... when... it was you... who threw the paper airplanes... at me..." He raised his hand to his face slowly and closed his palm into a fist, gently pressing it against his forehead for added melodrama.

Killian rolled his eyes. "Aye, I remember that. I also remember that it was in fact _your_ airplane and you had thrown it at me first."

"Details, details," Victor said, waving his hand at Killian.

It was quiet.

"So... anything new going on outside of work?" Whale asked, twiddling his thumbs.

"Not particularly," Killian responded with a sigh, submitting to the fact that Whale would not stop distracting him from... well... brooding! It was true that they once joked and procrastinated together all the time, but recent events had left him in a despondent state.

Victor toyed with the pens on his desk. "You know... I was thinking about calling up that girl... Ruby."

Killian didn't look at his friend but raised his eyebrows. "Who?"

Victor spun around in his chair until he was facing his co-worker. "Ruby! You know... that girl who was at Emma Swan's bakery when we stopped by?"

Killian flinched at the mention of_ Emma Swan's bakery_- something that did not go unnoticed.

"You okay, bud?" Victor asked, leaning forward in his spinny-chair with curiosity.

Killian scratched the back of his ear. "Y- yeah. Everything's fine. I'm just a little stressed about that job. Mr. Gold is really on my case about it." He turned around and stared at Whale, looking disgruntled. "He wants me to get a contract signed by the end of next week!"

Victor let out a long breath and shook his head. "Wow... can you believe that guy? He must really want that shop, huh?" The sound of footsteps from around the corner made Victor duck. "Ssshhit- speak of the devil," he whispered, watching as Mr. Gold made his way towards their shared office.

"Hello, Gold," Killian greeted with a casual salute as their boss came to a halt in their doorway.

"Any news on that Swan case?" Gold asked abruptly, apparently not in the mood for pleasantries.

Killian flinched again and shook his head. "Auhm... no... n- no, sir," he replied, shaking his head and shifting in his seat.

Gold lifted his cane slightly to point at his employee. "If you don't get me an update by Friday- there _will_ be consequences."

Killian gulped and nodded. "Yes, Mr. Gold."

Gold sighed and looked around the office, then back down at Killian. "Mr. Jones, you're my star employee. Truly. You have the opportunity to finally move up the ladder here. You could get your own office, better pay. All you need to do is this job for me."

Killian nodded again, this time a little frantically. "Right, of course. It's just that... uhm... well... the time slot for the job is a little tight, and Ms. Swan is very stubborn. She's failed to respond to our attempts at reaching her. What if we don't get you your contract in time?"

"You've never failed me before. Don't start now," was all Gold said. With a slight nod to Victor, who waved back, he left, the tapping of his cane echoing through the hall.

Victor shivered. "He scares me to be honest." Then he frowned and tapped Killian on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Hey, you sure you're okay? Normally you handle Gold like a pro but you were all tongue-tied today."

Killian nodded quickly and stood up, his body wracked with nerves. "Yeah I'm fine. I just need to... work some things out. I'm going to call it a day."

Victor nodded. "Alright, take the time ya need, bud. I'll cover for you."

Killian managed to smile in appreciation. "Thanks, mate," he said before heading out.

Emma and Mary Margaret were taking a break, watching their hot chocolates cool down.

"So, are you thinking about it?" Mary Margaret asked after a long silence.

"What, Ruby's idea?"

"No- I mean about selling the place."

Emma sighed and stared even harder at her coco, watching intently as the white foam remnants of the whip cream swirled around in the cup's vortex. She had wanted to avoid talking about it, but she knew she couldn't. After all, Mary Margaret was working for her- her income was on the line.

"Right now? No. But have I? Yes." She turned her head to stare out the window. "Look at this place. It's emptier than a box of pizza after Ruby gets her hands on it- and that's really saying something!"

Mary Margaret shook her head and held Emma's hands firmly in her own. "Don't worry. We'll get through this. Every business has its bumps!"

"Yeah, and some don't get over them," Emma huffed.

Mary Margaret smiled sadly, looking at her friend with a sort of sympathy. "You can't think like that. You just have to believe things will get good again- and when you do you'll see how much easier things get."

Emma had to keep from letting out a chuckle of disbelief. "Thinking positively? _That's_ going to save my bakery?"

Mary Margaret smiled brightly. "You'd be surprised," she responded as a customer walked in.

Emma stood up and wiped off her apron. "Hello, sir. Can I help you?" she asked quickly, moving behind the counter.

The person before her was wearing a hoodie and dark sunglasses, his hands shoved into the hoodie's deep pockets. "Yes, ma'am. I would like to buy an apple turnover, please?" he said in an extremely cheesy southern accent.

Emma narrowed her eyes but moved towards the pantry shelves. "For here or to go?"

The customer coughed. "To go," he said quietly.

As Emma reached for the turnover, Ruby burst in. "Emma I've found your guy!"

Emma didn't look up. "My guy?" she wondered with a snort.

"Meet Graham. Your volunteer musician!"

She looked up from her work and almost dropped the turnover. "W-wow!" she stuttered.

Graham... was gorgeous. He had medium length brown, curly hair, short and tidy stubble, and smoldering grey eyes.

Emma looked over at Ruby, who met her gaze.

_Don't tell me you wouldn't bang him, _she seemed to say. Then, out-loud, she announced, "Your wonderful and pragmatic friend Ruby has found the perfect person to reel in customers and fill this empty husk of a bakery with some life!"

From the corner of the store Mary Margaret stifled a giggle.

Emma blushed and looked back at her waiting customer. "I- I'm sorry. Did you say to go or for here?"

The customer started, "To- uhm... actually for here would be nice, thank you."

Emma paused but then nodded and got out a plate. "Here you go! Thank you!" she said with a nervous laugh, handing him the turnover.

He nodded and took a seat by the window, far away from everyone else.

Emma took off her apron and approached Graham and Ruby. "Hi," she greeted, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Emma!" She was grinning like an idiot- probably. Maybe she wasn't! She couldn't tell! Were her cheeks red? Was he examining her? Did he think she was attractive? What did his voice-

"A pleasure to meet you, Emma. Ruby talked a lot about you back when we worked together," he said politely.

Emma put on a (little too wide) smile and tilted her head to the side, eyeing her friend. "Did she now?"

Ruby simpered, throwing her arms out into an exaggerated shrug.

Mary Margaret stood up and joined them, cutting in between to shake hands with Graham herself. "Hi! I'm Mary Margaret. I work here!"

Graham smiled pleasantly and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Mary Margaret." He turned to Emma. "Ruby said you might want me to play one of my songs. I brought my guitar."

"Oh- oh, sure! Yeah!" she said with a nod, pulling a chair into the open area of the room. "Uhm- here, if you want to sit... I don't know if you do..."

Graham bowed his head politely and sat down, beginning to finger chords. His voice was like melted gold on buttered toast, and that was putting it lightly. Emma could barely keep herself from sighing dreamily. To cover for herself she had to fold her arms and pretend to look unphased. Ruby just watched, smirking. She was glad she could finally show off Graham's skill, and she was _especially_ glad the people- or person- she was introducing him to liked him. He strummed his guitar so casually and rarely looked down at it. Emma was almost jealous. She wished that she could play an instrument as well as that. Note after note he hit in perfect time, keeping a steady tempo and measuring his breaths.

When Graham had finished his song, he lifted his head and looked at her questioningly. "Do you think I could play here?"

Emma looked at Ruby, then back at Graham again. "Aaauhmmm-" Ruby's gaze intensified. "-You sound great, Graham! I can't wait to have you h- your music here!"

And immediately after she spoke, a Victor Whale entered the premises. If anyone had been paying attention, they would have noticed the shady customer squirming in his seat.

"Hey, Victor." Ruby was beaming.

"Hey, there, Ruby. You ready to go?" he asked, pulling one of his hands out of his pockets and pointing out the door.

"Yes, I am!" she said as she reached for her bag.

Emma tugged on Ruby's jacket and pulled her over out of ear-shot. "What are you doing?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Not this _again_, Emma! Just because Victor works for Golden Delights™ doesn't mean I can't go on a date with him. He's a genuinely nice guy. It's just unfortunate that you both have clashing goals in life."

"But, Rubyyyy," Emma whined.

Ruby pulled her jacket out of Emma's grip. "But nothing!" she said with finality, walking out the door with her date and leaving a tension in the room behind her.

Mary Margaret came to the rescue, filling the awkward silence with her cheery voice. "You're very talented, Graham! I look forward to hearing more! How long have you been practicing?"

As Graham and Mary Margaret discussed his lessons, Emma backed into the kitchen, combing her fingers through her hair. Ruby was going to date Victor. Victor, the co-conspirator in trying to steal her business. What if he was using her? What if she got hurt?

As if on cue, Emma's phone buzzed. The text read, _Trust me. I'll be fine_. And just like that her worries melted away. Ruby might have been ditsy and silly at times, but she was really smart and knew how to handle herself. She wouldn't take any shit from Victor.

Emerging from the kitchen, she noticed Graham had left and Mary Margaret was packing up her stuff.

"Leaving already?" Emma wondered, looking past her friend to see if she could spot Graham walking down the street.

Mary Margaret nodded like it were obvious. "Yeah. Remember? I asked you a week ago if I could leave early today. I have a doctor's appointment."

Emma pressed her palm to her forehead. "Oh, of course! I'm so sorry. Go on ahead."

"Before I go," Mary Margaret started with sly smile and tone of voice, swaying closer to Emma, "Graham wanted me to give you his number."

"Really?" Emma asked in disbelief, taking the piece of paper.

Mary Margaret shrugged. "Well... he meant so you could talk to him about when he should play, but I have a feeling he _liiikes youuuuu_."

Emma snorted. "What makes you think that?"

"You didn't see him constantly looking at you? He's interested. He likes what he sees," she teased.

"Oh stop it!" Emma laughed, pushing her friend lightly on the shoulder.

"You'll learn soon enough. See you later," she called from behind her shoulder, walking out.

Emma practically skipped behind the counter, leaning on it and staring happily at the piece of paper. Maybe this was finally the start of something new. The end of the bump.

If she had been looking, she might have noticed the customer staring at her, his expression hidden behind the dark glasses.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey! I'm a tumblr-based fanfictioner, so these are all from my tumblr blog**

**I update there hella faster than here, so if you want to see chapters sooner, you should go follow me and keep an eye out!**

**Reviews are extra appreciated and be sure to follow this fic if you can't wait for more!**

* * *

"Well, Ruby, I've got to hand it to ya. You proved me wrong. You win," Emma admitted, handing her friend five dollars.

"Don't I always?" Ruby asked with a smirk, accepting the money gladly. "You really ought to trust people, Emma."

Emma shrugged. "It's kinda my job to be the skeptic around here. Everyone else is too cheesily optimistic for me to feel comfortable." She let out a sigh of content, watching Graham play his acoustic guitar for the small crowd gathered in her bakery. "I can't say I'm all too disappointed to lose the bet, though. I'm really glad your Multiplication Theory is working."

Ruby nodded and pulled out a pad of paper from her bag. "Now we move on to phase 2," she said, clicking her pen and holding it over the paper.

Emma moved closer and peered over Ruby's shoulder. "Phase 2?" she asked.

"Yeah! You see, I've got this all worked out!" -Emma raised an eyebrow- "I've got a lot of time on my hands, okay?" Ruby exclaimed with a blush.

Emma laughed. "Enlighten me, Ruby. What_ is_ phase 2?"

Ruby straightened her posture to look more professional. "Well I'm glad you asked, Ms. Swan! Phase 2 is to help spread the word about your bakery. You need advertisements! Posters, flyers, cards, etc. We're also going to make you your very own website!"

Emma nodded. "Well that sounds all fine and dandy, but what will the materials cost?"

"Haven't you ever been to Belle French's privately owned library? Locally owned businesses get their first hundred poster, flyers, and cards for free!"

"Belle owns a library?"

"What rock have you been living under? Didn't you just help her with her brunch? Haven't you guys been friends for years?"

"I didn't know she owned a library!"

"Wow, Emma."

"Whatever, Ruby. You didn't even know Mary Margaret worked here until last year!"

Ruby ducked her head. "I thought she just- hung out here a lot! Like I did!"

"No, Ruby. You're a _very_ rare case," Emma said with a snort. Then she looked over at Graham who was wrapping up the final song in his set.

She grabbed a chocolate croissant and walked over to him.

"Here you go, Graham," she said, handing him the plate. "Thanks again for doing this, it's really helped the business out a lot."

"It's not a problem at all. I like the perks of playing here, too."

"Free croissants?"

He smiled coyly. "Yes, that's _one_ of them, I suppose."

Emma grinned. "What are the others?"

"Well it always smells nice, the audiences are polite, and I get to look at a very beautiful woman every day I'm here."

Emma could feel her cheeks turn crimson within seconds. "Who, Ruby?" she asked, even though she knew he meant her.

He set his guitar down next to him. "I was wondering if you wanted to... go on a date with me?" Even though he didn't look the part, Emma could sense that he was a little nervous.

A loud bang came from nearby as a customer fell off their chair. "Sorry," came a familiar cheesy southern accent. "Sorry," they muttered again, fixing their sunglasses.

Emma looked back at Graham. "Uh- uh-uh," she stuttered.

"I mean I know it's weird because if it doesn't work out we'll have to see each other all the time, but why not give it a go, yeah?"

"Yes! Yes, of course, sure-" she agreed excitedly. Then she took a deep breath and put on a calm face. "Yeah, I'm cool with that if you are," she said nonchalantly, pretending to examine her nails.

"Awesome, I'll pick you up at 8!" Graham cheered, packing up his guitar and heading out.

"Yeah..." Emma said with a smile, watching him leave.

Ruby approached her friend, her mouth wide with glee. "I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it! You guys totally had the hots for each other!" she cheered.

Emma blushed and let Ruby shake her by her shoulders. "Yeah, it's whatever," she replied quietly.

"This is the best day **EVER**!" Ruby whooped. "Celebratory cupcakes for _everyone_!"

The people in the shop perked up.

"Nonono, she's just kidding!" Emma exclaimed, crushing their hopes. "No way in hell am I making free cupcakes for anybody," she added under her breath.

"So, Killian... how was your evening _at home _the other night?" Victor asked suspiciously as he walked into their office, pulling off his gloves and coat. "Were you able to relax and gather your thoughts?"

Killian cleared his throat. "Indeed I was," he responded, pretending to look busy on his computer.

Victor made some sniffing noises. "Hmm... that's... that's kind of strange... do you smell that?" he asked, looking around.

Killian rolled his eyes. "Smell what? I don't smell anything."

Victor tapped his chin. "Hmm, that's weird... it kind of smells like... like a big heap of-" he paused, "-bullshit! That's it! Bullshit!"

"What?" Killian whirled around in his seat.

"Yeah that's right you lying liar! I caught you in the act," Victor said smugly.

Killian shook his head and stuck out his chin. "I've no idea what you mean, mate."

"Oh yes you do," Victor shot back, jabbing an accusative finger in Killian's personal bubble.

"Get that blasted thing out of my face," Killian growled, smacking the finger away.

"You weren't at home yesterday! I _saw_ you!"

"Saw me where?" Killian asked nervously, shifting in his seat.

"At Emma's bakery. You thought I wouldn't recognize you with your glasses and hoodie, but we've been friends for too long. I know how to spot you. And anyways that was the same hoodie you borrowed from me a week ago!"

"Well shit, mate. You got me. I was doing some reconnaissance, alright?" Killian mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

Victor narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No, there's more to it than that. If you wanted to do reconnaissance you wouldn't have done it yourself. That's not your style, Mr. Jones. You would have asked me to talk to Ruby or maybe have even hired somebody else to do it instead. In fact..." Victor rested his chin on his fist in thought, "...now that I think about it, you've been taking an awful long time with this job. Deadlines like next week normally don't mean anything to you. You can do jobs like this in a few days max with your wily ways." He looked up from his musings. "Why _haven't_ you been brutally sabotaging her business?"

"I- uhm... I just want to go about this carefully is all."

"Carefully, he says!" Victor scoffed. "Carefully my ars, Jones! You once screwed a woman and then blackmailed her into selling her store to you, and yet you want to go about_ this_ one carefully."

Killian held out his hand to try and quiet his co-worker. "Listen, Whale, I know I've done some... regrettable things in the past for this company, but I'm trying to clean up my act."

"Why would you do that? You know that Gold approved of your previous methods."

"Well it's wrong, okay?"

There was silence as they both leaned back in their chairs and stared at each other, waiting for the other to stop.

"Waiiiittt a minute," Victor started in realization. "You like that chick, don't you? You like Emma Swan!"

"Shhhhh! No, I don't!" Killian cried.

Victor shot up and opened the door to their office. "Hey, everyone," he shouted into the large room of cubicles before him. "Killian Jones has a crush on-" Killian slapped a hand on Victor's mouth and pulled him back into the room, only to see his friend collapse onto his chair in laughter.

"You've gone soft, _mate_," he teased.

"Whatever," Killian grumbled, folding his arms and sinking deep into his chair.

It was quiet again.

"Sooooo, when did you knoww?" Victor asked in a lovey voice, clapping his hands into a fist and swaying his seat.

"Know what?" Killian asked with malice.

"Don't play dumb! When did you know that you liked her, of course!" Victor continued, still using his lovey voice.

"I- I don't know. I just did, okay? Can we not talk about it, pleeease?" he begged.

"I'm not letting you off that easy, Jones. We're going to talk about this **all** day!" Victor needled.

Killian sighed. "Fine," he muttered, "what do you want to know?"

"Your favorite thing about her?"

"Her determination. And her hair. Her voice is really nice, too." He started squirming with enthusiasm. "She also has a really neat sense of humor and-" Killian stopped when he realized Victor was nodding a little too eagerly. "No. No, I'm not doing this. You just want to make fun of me."

"Whaaaat?" Victor cried as he held his hand over his heart, taking offense by the comment. "Of course not, Killy-man. I don't think it's weird or hilarious that you know this much stuff about her having only spoken to her once!"

"Hmph."

Victor smiled. "Look, man, for real, I think it's nice that you like her. In fact, I may just want you two together."

Killian blinked in surprise. "You- you what?"

Victor shrugged. "Why not? You've never been in a long term relationship before. I'm interested to see what happens." He put a hand on Killian's shoulder and said, in an overly dramatic voice, "I'm here for you, man. I'm invested..." he pointed from his chest to his friend's, "...in _your_ future."

"Well even so, how would I... ask her out? I work for the company that wants to crush her dreams and darken her future! That's not exactly a nice sentiment for a relationship." Then he looked down at the floor and clenched his fists. "Not to mention she's interested in another man." He stared intensely at no one in particular and growled, "Graham."

Victor waved the thought away. "Graham schmam. You're way classier than whoever this guy is. You wear a suit everyday!" he exclaimed, gesturing to his co-worker's outstanding fashion game.

Killian pouted and set his chin on his fist. "Well wearing a nice suit isn't going to make her like me. She's not that type of girl." He thought back to his memories of Graham somberly. "He can play the guitar..." he whimpered.

"This is ridiculous!" Victor cried in outrage, leaping from his sitting position. "You are Killian Jones! You're a powerful, rich, sexy, and well-dressed man who's probably a really adorable softie on the inside! There's nothing in that sentence that a girl doesn't like! You're straight out of a Young Adult novel!"

"You think I'm sexy?"

Victor ignored him. "You're going to go up to Emma and ask her out on a date or so help me god I will drag you down to that bakery myself and make you!" he yelled, heaving Killian out of his chair. He began to straighten out Killian's wrinkled jacket and flatten his hair.

"There's just one problem," Killian began to explain, pacing around the open space. "She's already agreed to go on a date with that Graham person at 8 tonight."

"Then we'll just have to change her schedule," Victor said with a mischievous grin, holding out his phone. "We're going to make an order. And_ you're_ going to help her finish it."

"Hey, look, Graham! I'm really so _soo_ sorry to cancel, but someone just made a huge order of turnovers for tomorrow, and if I'm going to get even close to finishing it on time I'll need to work really late tonight!" Emma explained in a rush, desperately clawing for ingredients and mixing dough at the same time. "Really? You understand? Awesome! Thank you so much. Maybe another time soon, okay? Thanks, I've got to go!"

Emma sighed and continued her work, mercilessly beating dough with her fists, trying to take out her anger. _Why why _**why**_ does something always have to go wrong somewhere?_ she thought with frustration. _I mean it's great that someone is ordering this stuff from me, but tonight of all nights?_

"I guess I can't complain," she grumbled as she set her oven in the bakery's kitchen. She had figured that the rest of the night would be just her and the turnovers, but she was surprised when she heard a knock on the front door. She couldn't see who it was since it was dark out, so she approached the door slowly. As she got closer, she recognized Killian Jones; The man who wanted to buy her business. Her eyes rolling back into her head, she unlocked the door and opened it. "What do you what now?" she asked seriously. "If you're here for my shop I've already said-"

"That's not why I'm here," Killian interrupted, shouldering his way inside.

Emma followed him in. "Sure, just walk on inside. Whatever, it's cool," she said sarcastically, her voice tinged with a little bit of anger.

Killian coughed straightened his jacket out of habit. "I'm... sorry for my intrusion, Swan. I've been taking a lot of time to think lately-"

"- Is that really so rare that you had to come all the way over here and tell me?"

He ignored her. "I was thinking that maybe we should... go out sometime... to discuss... the future," he attempted, wincing at his poor choice in words. Why had his natural charisma suddenly left him?

Emma folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. "The future?" she repeated in an 'are you kidding me?' voice. Then she turned her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Waiiit- are you asking me on a _date_?"

Killian tightened his tie, feeling his face turn red. Luckily the lights in her store were dim enough that it wasn't obvious. "No- I mean to discuss the future of your... business! If you'll just hear me out."

She smirked. "Right, of course. My business." She sucked in a breath and tapped her fingers on the nearby counter. "Well, alright. When do you want to do this 'future discussion'?" she asked, making air quotes with her free hand.

He cleared his throat. "Well... I was hoping to do it tonight, if possible. The night is still young after all."

She frowned. "Well I'm kind of busy with this order I got. I need to make sixty apple turnovers by tomorrow."

Killian remembered Victor's phone call back at their office. He shrugged. "I could help you finish. Then maybe after that we could... uh go somewhere?"

Emma couldn't help it. She smiled softly. Who would have guessed that a guy whose job it was to practically ruin her life would like her? But then her natural defenses kicked in and she became her regular ol' skeptic self. _This is some kind of test... some kind of trick to get to my shop,_ she thought. How would she handle it? A plan seeped its way into her head. She could break him. Little-by-little until he gave up his tactic. Give him all the hard jobs, make him feel really out of his element. It seemed perfect.

"I guess... I guess there's no harm in talking," she said finally. "I'll make a deal, then," she announced.

Killian took a few steps forward. "I'm listening." He nodded at her expectantly.

"You help me bake my turnovers, and I'll let you buy me a drink," she declared, holding out her hand.

"You've got a deal, Swan," Killian agreed, taking her hand firmly in his and shaking it. He had to focus extremely hard to hide his glee.

She grabbed an extra apron off the hook by the kitchen door. "You'll want to wear this," she explained. "Wouldn't want to ruin that nice suit of yours, right?"

Killian accepted the apron, which was a pretty shade of powder pink, and slipped it over his head, tying the strings in the back. The embroidery on it read 'Daddy's little girl' on it. "What's this?" he asked, his voice a little shrill. He'd never worn anything so ridiculous in his life.

Emma glanced over and giggled. "Sorry, that's Mary Margaret's. She got it as a birthday gift from her dad. We keep it around so we can laugh at it. I guess you'll be the first person to use it. Fitting," she said with smug grin, realizing just how many evil things she could do to test his patience.

"I guess it's in a pleasant font," Killian joked lightly, standing beside her and awaiting instructions.

Emma tilted her head to the side to try and hide the upward tug of her lip. "Alright, here's the recipe," she started to explain, pointing at her book. "We're going to need some apples, of course, which are in the back of the fridge..."

The next two hours went surprisingly smooth. Having the two of them, they managed to make the turnovers in record time without incident. "I'm impressed," Emma admitted, interested that Killian had withstood all of her attempts to make him uncomfortable- which were plentiful. "Have you had any experience in the kitchen?"

He removed the oven mitts hugging his hands after setting the last tray of turnovers on the counter. "Oh, just a few cooking classes from college. Nothing big," he said, removing the apron and hanging it on the hook. He then turned to face Emma. "So... that drink?"

Emma opened her mouth to turn him down- to break their deal. But she found she couldn't. It would be unfair. He'd fulfilled his side despite all the crap she'd tried to throw his way. The least she could do was her part. And anyways, maybe there was more to business-hoo-ha-Killian-Jones than she thought. "A-alright," she replied at last, removing her apron as well. "I guess it can't hurt to talk."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey! I'm a tumblr-based fanfictioner, so these are all from my tumblr blog **

**I update there hella faster than here, so if you want to see chapters sooner, you should go follow me and keep an eye out! **

**Reviews are extra appreciated and be sure to follow this fic if you can't wait for more!**

* * *

"So, you wanted to talk future?" Emma started, holding her beer up to her lips.

Killian suddenly didn't know what to say next. Of course he didn't want to talk about her business, but that was the whole reason they were there. "Well, to be quite honest I didn't think I'd get this far." He paused then quickly added, "You know... you being stubborn and all with your bakery..."

Emma flashed him a smile. "I didn't think you'd get this far, either," she said, taking a sip.

"It seems as though you've really picked up business through that... Graham fellow," he started, playing with the coaster under his drink. He had to channel all his energy so as not to sound suspiciously envious of the man.

Emma narrowed her eyes but nodded. "Yeah... how did you know that?"

_Shit_, Killian thought. "Oh- it came up in a conversation with Whale. Casually..."

Emma snorted. "_Casually._ I'm _sure_." There was silence, then she leaned forward on the table, her arms folded in front of her. "Can I ask you something?"

Killian nodded, not looking at her. Gods it was hard to look at her. "Go on ahead," he replied.

"Is there- um... is there more to this than just business?" she wondered. She had to concentrate to ask the question in a nonchalant manner. She had almost felt her voice squeak. That would have been embarrassing.

Killian shook his head a little too fast. "Oh, no. No! Of course not!" he answered hastily.

Emma frowned. "Oh- okay," she said. Was that... disappointment?

Killian shook his head. Of course not. It couldn't be. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "To be quite honest, Swan, I've been put into a rather awkward situation."

"How now?"

He sighed. "I don't _really_ want to buy out your business," he admitted, shrugging slightly.

She smirked and swirled the beer around in her mug. "I'm sure," she replied sarcastically.

"No, honestly, Swan. I understand that it's important to you, and I don't want you to have to give it up."

Emma's lips parted in surprise. Did he really mean it? She'd always thought that corporate execs didn't care or appreciate the value of creating something- just tearing it from their creator's grasp and claiming it as their own.

"But-" Killian started.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. _Of course there's a 'but',_ she thought irritably, looking away and taking a giant gulp of her drink.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but my boss, Gold, he's not afraid to take away what you have. He's not afraid to make you pay the price, and believe me, his price is a steep one."

She let out an audible groan, wrapping her fingers tightly around her glass. "Look, _Mr. Jones-_"

"Please, it's Killian," he replied with a confident smile. It faded quickly.

"Okay..._ Killian_. As much as I appreciate this "warning" of yours," she started, making air quotes, "I can't help but feel like this is your way of manipulating me. I'm not as stupid as you'd like to believe."

Killian's face fell. Of course she wouldn't believe him. He wore suits everyday and ripped people off for a living. But she had to believe him! "Look. Emma, please. You have to realize that I may be an ass-"

Emma nodded earnestly.

"-but he's more of a monster than I could ever aspire to become. He's been at this for almost thirty years. He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants for as low a price as he can. He will blackmail and sabotage until there will be nothing left of you, and you'll all but have to _donate_ your bakery to him."

Emma tilted her head to the side, giving him an_ 'are you for real?'_ look. "You really expect me to fall for this? It's a common tactic, honestly!" She started doing a low dumb drawl, imitating some schmoe. "_You better hand over your business now before it's tooooo late! _Empty threats."

"Emma!" Killian nearly shouted.

She leaned back in her seat, not expecting that from him. Despite her shock, she could feel a slight tingle dancing in her gut. Something about him saying her name was... nice.

Killian pressed a finger to his temple and exhaled. "Look, as much as I wish what I was saying wasn't true, it is. If I don't sign a deal, Gold will likely hire someone else who won't be as sympathetic. He might even try to seize control of the deal directly. He won't settle. He'll get every cent he can squeeze out."

She nodded, which made Killian a bit relieved. Perhaps she was listening to him after all. "The thing of it is..." she started, holding out a thoughtful finger, "my business is doing just fine right now. I don't need to sell it anymore. And even if I did, I would never sell it to you or your boss. I don't want my store to become some gross chain. I want it to flourish and thrive as something new and separate!"

"Swan-"

"Don't 'Swan' me!" she responded sternly, lifting her finger at him. "I've made my choice, and now I'm going home." She stood up and dug out a five from her purse.

"What are you doing? I said I'd buy you a drink..." Killian's voice trailed away as she shook her head and slapped the money on the table.

"Oh, there's no need. My business is earning me money, remember?"

And with that, she walked out, leaving Killian alone with his Corona Lite and the crumpled up five dollar bill.

Killian's warning remained unheeded, and so came the next series of unfortunate events. What seemed like the very next day to him (but was in actuality a week later), Mr. Gold was standing in his office, leaning on his cane with his signature frown in place. Killian was alone at work that day. Victor had taken the day off.

"I assume you've made no progress." The energy that Gold radiated filled Killian's work-space, and cheeks, with shame.

"No, sir," he replied, not looking at his boss directly. "It seems she's made progress and is no longer in a vulnerable position," he explained honestly. He decided to continue, hoping to change his boss's mind. "I'm not sure it's entirely worth it for this shop! It will be difficult-"

"Nonsense," Gold nearly growled, tapping his cane impatiently on the ground. "I'm not going to let a possible threat to my business thrive. I suppose since you've failed to do anything of use, I'll have to take it from here." He turned to leave, but paused. "Oh... and that promotion? Opportunity missed. Next time you fail a job, you'll be fired." And with that he walked away.

Killian sat there quietly. He knew what would be coming. He had already known.

Gold had been watching. He knew who Ruby was. Who Mary Margaret was. Who Graham was. And, of course, who Emma Swan was. But no one knew who he was. He was simply the regular who ordered a lemon tart, sat for a few minutes, and then left.

But in those small intervals of time, he had learned a lot. He had overheard conversations. He knew a lot of unexpected things. For instance, Ruby was the strongest contributor to Emma's campaign. He also knew that Graham was trying to start his music career and that he and Emma were intimate to some extent. Mary Margaret had gotten engaged. He was also aware that Victor was dating the Ruby girl.

There was so much information- so many opportunities for him to take advantage of. But he settled for Graham. A weak link in the chain. Not as closely bonded to the tightly-wound group of friends. Looking out for himself more than for the others. So eager for a bright future, thus easily-manipulated.

One Tuesday evening, Gold followed Graham out of the bakery, walking a little ways behind him. Eventually he started showing signs that he was following him.

At first when Graham noticed, he began to walk faster, taking quick turns in an attempt to lose his pursuer. Gold was used to this and kept up pace with ease. When Graham realized he couldn't outrun this, he turned into an alley and waited.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded once Gold turned the corner.

Gold smiled softly and began leaning on his cane. "I want to help you."

Graham stood up straight and held onto his guitar case tightly. "Help me how?"

"Why, help you get your career started, of course!" Gold explained in a strangely cheery voice. "You've got real potential. I have many connections to the music industry that would help you a great deal."

Graham narrowed his eyes. "What's the price? There's always a catch with things like these."

Gold grinned and nodded, wagging his finger at the musician and approaching him. "You're a smart lad. All you need to do is take your friend Emma Swan out for a drink. Make sure she's completely intoxicated- completely drained of good judgement. That's all."

Graham's face contorted into one of disgust. "Get her drunk? So... what... she can be taken advantage of? That's a horribly evil thing to do and I won't have any part of it!" he cried defiantly.

Gold shrugged, holding his cane out in front him. "It's your choice, Graham. I can either make your life very easy or very hard. It's up to you. Do this for me or I'll make sure you never have a music career- or any career for that matter- ever again." Gold smiled in a way that made Graham sick to his stomach. He held out his hand to shake on it. "What do you say? Have we got a deal?"

Graham stared at the hand, his own quivering at his side.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey! I'm a tumblr-based fanfictioner, so these are all from my tumblr blog **

**I update there hella faster than here, so if you want to see chapters sooner, you should go follow me and keep an eye out! **

**Reviews are extra appreciated and be sure to follow this fic if you can't wait for more!**

* * *

The sun had risen, its gentle rays floating through Emma's curtains and filling the room with natural light. To her, though, its gentle rays were like daggers, responsible for the demonic throbbing in her head.

"Make it _stoppp_," she mumbled into her sheets, shoving a pillow over her head to keep the light out. It worked for awhile, until it got too hard to breathe and she had to emerge from the depths of her fluffy cushion.

"Knock knock! Ruby's coming in anyways!" a voice sang from just outside her door.

"Rrrnngh," Emma replied, her head face down, the mattress crushing her nose.

"Shit, Emma! I knew you were a little drunk last night, but I didn't know you were slammed. You must have one whopper of a hang-over, eh?" Ruby commented with a sympathetic grin, sitting on the edge of Emma's bed.

"Mmnshurtup," came Emma's muffled whimper. "Tyrna shleep."

"Well you'll have to get up eventually. Some corporate guy is coming over in an hour to buy your bakery. He called to let you know but I answered. I was wondering if you knew where my dress you borrowed last night was?"

Emma shot up in bed. "What?!" she screamed, whipping off her covers. Suddenly her headache was replaced by a burning hot rage.

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "'I was wondering if you knew where my dress you borrowed last night was?'" she repeated hesitantly.

Emma smacked her forehead. "No, no. Before that!"

"Oh! 'Some corporate guy is coming over in an hour to buy your bakery.' There's my dress!" Ruby cheered, picking it up off the floor. Then she made a face as though she just remembered something. "That guy also said he was going to convince... uh... hmm... some guy not to press charges- _and_ that he would pay for all the damages."

"He said all _that_?" Emma cried, her jaw slack. When her friend nodded she started clawing at her face. "Oh no! _Oh no! __**Oh no!**_ What happened last night? What did I **_do_**?"

Ruby clapped her hands excitedly, her face all lit up with glee. "Oh awesome! This is the part where I get to recount the tale of my friend's black-out to help find out what's going on in present time! Just like in my tv shows!"

Emma slumped and fell back against her headboard. "This isn't a game, Ruby. I need to know what's going on!" She rubbed her eyes with her hands. "How the hell did this happen?" she wailed.

"Allow me to tell you!" Ruby started eagerly. Her voice then took an ominous tone. "It all began yesterday evening as you were drinking your night-coffee and checking your mail..."

_"Hey, Ruby?" you called from the kitchen._

_"Yo whattup?" I replied from my bedroom._

_"Have you seen a check addressed to me at all? I can't find it- it was supposed to be in the mail..." you explained._

_"Nope!" I answered from my bedroom. I was brushing my hair._

"Alright- you suck at this, Ruby," Emma interrupted, getting up and putting on some real clothes. "You brushing your hair has nothing to do with my black-out. And anyways, I already know what happened. I wasn't drunk then!"

Ruby jumped up. "No wait! I can do this! I just wanted to do it like how it's done on _How I Met your Mother_! They always start soooo early on in the stories and over-compensate details!"

"Well this isn't_ How I Met your Mother_, Ruby! This is _How the hell am I going to find out what I did while I was drunk so I can fix this damn mess and keep my business_!"

Ruby paced around the room and tapped her chin. "Hmm... let's see. You couldn't find your check. Then you got that call from Graham, got SUPER excited, and dragged me over to that club I mentioned earlier..."

Emma rolled her eyes impatiently, slipping her shirt over her head. "Yes, yes, yes. Then you saw that Victor guy there and you two ditched me while I drank myself away with Graham."

Ruby pouted and crossed her arms. "I was only chatting with him for about an hour. Then I went to check on you and I couldn't find you anywhere..."

Emma's eyes widened. "You know, come to think of it, I don't remember any of this. All I can remember is arriving to the club, really. Do you think Graham roofied me?" she asked worriedly.

Ruby shook her head quickly. "No! Trust me, I know the signs. You weren't sleepy, confused, or nauseous. You were just drunk. And anyways, Graham isn't the type. I've known him for almost a decade." There was a moment of tense quiet before Ruby continued. "I thought I saw you just doing regular shots. You were having a competition with Graham, though. You know how you get _sooo_ competitive... But you looked like you were winning. Good for you!" she congratulated, patting her room-mate on the shoulder.

"No! _No!_ Not good for me!" Emma scolded, slinking away from Ruby's hand. "I got wasted- and that was bad! Very _very_ **bad**!"

"Right- bad!" Ruby corrected. She tapped her chin again. "Let's see... you wandered off to the dance floor after Graham had to leave and started killing it..."

Emma seemed at least relieved she was a good dancer while drunk. "Oh wait! No- no actually you were terrible. It was Victor who was killing it," Ruby remembered. She sighed dreamily. "He's a really cool guy, Emma."

Emma threw her hands up into the air. "We're getting nowhere!" She looked at her alarm clock. "That _ass_ is going to be here in forty minutes and I've got nothing."

Ruby shrugged. "Why don't you just ask them what happened?"

Emma couldn't think of an answer. "Well -I - maybe he doesn't know I was drunk- maybe he'd lie to me! I have to keep appearances up. I have to be professional!"

"Whatever, Emma. The only thing I know after that is you wandering off with Ariel," Ruby said, opening the door and leaving with her dress.

Emma jumped across her bed and reached for her purse, scuffling through it in search of her phone. "Ariel... Ariel," she muttered, scrolling through her contacts to find the number. She didn't really know Ariel that well. They met at a concert a few months back and generally only talked through facebook. But they had hung out every once in awhile.

"Hello?" came a weary sounding voice from the other end of the line.

Emma perked up in her bed. "Ariel! Hi! It's Emma!"

There was silence. Then, after a moment, came Ariel's wary voice. "Oh- Hey, Emma... uhm... what's up?"

"Is everything okay?" Emma wondered, noticing Ariel's strange tone.

"Yes... everything's fine, what do you need?" she replied, her words cold and harsh.

Emma ignored the hostility and tried to think of a reasonable explanation. "Well- I can't really remember too much of last night and I was told that I spent some time with you. I was hoping you might be able to help me fill in some gaps?" She winced, hoping it didn't sound too strange.

Ariel exhaled loudly. "You really don't remember anything?"

"No..." Emma started hesitantly. "...Was it really bad?"

"You can be the judge of that. Here's the jist of what happened;

"I was bar-tending as usual and my shift was just ending. You came up to me and started babbling about how you were the greatest mixologist ever and you were going to prove some guy wrong. Then you jumped the counter and acted as the bartender. You broke _15_ glasses trying to toss them in the air, and you gave away half our inventory for free! I kept trying to get you out but you whipped at least 8 of those glasses at me. It took 4 security guards to throw you out!"

Ariel sounded mad.

Emma's body went limp on her bed. "Oh god," she muttered.

"Yeah! It was pretty bad!" Ariel exclaimed shrilly. "You almost got me fired! Not to mention after we kicked you out you ended up slashing my boss's tires."

"I _didn't_!" Emma gasped.

"Yes! You did! Just ask you friend Mary Margaret! She was there!" Then the line went dead.

"Holy shit," Emma said out loud. She sat still for a minute before dialing Mary Margaret's number. She wasn't sure if she wanted to continue. With every passing minute (and _oh_ how they ticked by) this story was getting more and more absurd. Maybe this really was an episode of _How I Met Your Mother!_

She bit down on her thumb and pressed call, holding the phone up to her ear and squeezing her eyes shut in preparation for what was to come.

"Hey, Emma. I meant to call and ask how you were feeling. You... didn't look so good last night."

Emma let out a small sigh of relief. She could always count on Mary Margaret to be polite and kind. Her ever-cheerful voice made her feel slightly better after hearing an upset Ariel.

"Yeah- about that... could you tell me what happened?"

Mary Margaret made a "hmm" sound. "Well let's see. You called me at 2am from a number I didn't recognize and asked me to take you home. Then when I found you on the curb you were fighting with some man over the phone you called me with- you lost by the way.

"I walked over and asked you what was wrong. You told me we had to 'exact revenge' because your phone had just been 'stolen by a heathen' despite the fact that your actual phone was clearly in your hand. You pulled out a pocket knife- lord knows where you got it- saying that a friend told you of a good way to let go of pent up anger. Then you started slashing holes in the man's tire. He ran back out and started screaming at you. In short, I learned many new insults and profanities last night."

Emma frowned. "Was there anything else?"

"That's not enough?" Mary Margaret asked in surprise. She sighed and paused in thought. "That's right! In the car you were talking about how you and Graham really hit it off and that he gave you his new number. Then you called him... let me think... you said,

_"'Heeeeeeyyy, GrAham! How's it hangin? We were just talking,'"_ Mary Margaret quoted, impersonating Emma's drunk voice.

"Then you paused and then laughed.

_"'What do you want with my building?'_

"I think you called the wrong number, though, because you said,

_"'Who are you? Why do you have Graham's phone? You were-'_

"Nonono, that's not it...

_"'Who are you? Why do you have Graham's phone?- Whoooaaa, I know you! We were talking and you want my shop! That's crazy!"_

"Okay, Mary Margaret. I've heard enough," Emma interrupted suddenly, blushing. She pinched her forehead, then thought to herself angrily, _Emma what the actual fuc-_

"But there's more!"

_Oh please god let there be no more,_ Emma thought with a whimper.

"After you finished you said, "'Wooo hoooo! I just made three thousand dollars! I'M A MILLIONAIRE!'"

"Shitfuck_assbu__**ttdICKS**_!" Emma screeched, kicking her dresser (which hurt a fucking TON). Then, to Ruby's unfathomable delight- as she was listening just outside- her room-mate growled, "That _sonofabeech_," just as there came a knock on the door to their apartment.

Emma ignored Ruby's incessant squealing.

"I don't understand-" Mary Margaret started.

Emma didn't let her finish. "Killian Jones," she began in a dark tone, shoving open her bedroom door and marching towards the front of her apartment. "Corporate Exec for Golden Delights™ and co-conspirator in trying to buy my shop," she explained. As she opened the door she added, "Not to mention a ass-faced, sneaky, knaving-" she stopped.

"Oh, Ms. Swan, there's no need to throw insults around. In fact, let's skip the pleasantries and just get to signing on the dotted line," Gold said with an empty look. He was standing inches from her, leaning forward on his cane. There was a wad of papers under his arm.

She stared at him, surprised. "You're not-"

"_Killian Jones_? Disappointed?" His face remained expressionless but his voice took on a tone of amusement.

Emma recovered from her shock and shook her head furiously. "I'm not signing anything! You tried to trick me into selling my shop to you by hiring some guy to get me drunk!"

Gold nodded as though it were apparent. He rocked back and forth on his cane and stared at her intently. "Indeed I did. And once you were too drunk to question who I was, I also bet that you couldn't be a bartender on your life. After you so elegantly proved me wrong, I gave you a pocketknife as a reward and told you slashing tires was a great way to let go of pent up anger. Not to mention I lent you somebody else's phone when you needed a ride."

Emma stood in the doorway, her mouth agape. Gold's face remained blank, as though his impressively thorough and manipulative plan was an everyday thing for him. "My do you look attractive when you're shocked and upset," he commented sarcastically.

Emma couldn't form words. "I- I- I don't- I- I don't understand!" she managed. "How do you expect me to do this? I'm not drunk anymore- nothing has been made official. I would never willingly sign this!"

"Because, Ms. Swan," Gold started, his voice lowering until it was almost too quiet for her to hear. "I'm the only thing standing between you and thousands of dollars in fines- not to mention a potential lawsuit- or did you not know about that?"

"_What?_" Emma gasped, reaching to grab her mouth. She wanted to cry. How could she have let this happen? Now she was only going to be able to sell her shop for 3 thousand dollars with no way out.

"Yes... it would appear that bar-owner is suing you for destruction of private property and criminal assault," Gold added, pulling out the an official statement. He winked. "I had the courts speed up the process with a little convincing. With any luck you'll be judged by the end of the week!"

She took the statement from him gingerly, her heart sinking into her chest. The amount of dollars in fines- there was no way she could afford it. Then she looked up at him with a face that could break anybody's heart. "How could you?" she asked quietly. Her voice was quivering. "How am I going to live off of 3 thousand dollars?"

Gold was not the type to succumb to puppy dog eyes, though. He shrugged. "I suppose you'll just have to figure it out, dearie. But- the good news for you is that you've been offered a job at the new Golden Delights™ opening," he answered, pointing out the lines of the contract where it was stated.

Emma squinted her eyes and stared intently at the words. Then she leaned back. "I'm going to be... the floor mopper?"

Gold smiled for the first time in the entirety of their conversation. "It all works out, doesn't it?" Then he pointed at his watch and the dotted line. "Tick tock! I haven't got all day. Plenty of other dreams to crush."

Emma took the pen out of his hand slowly and held her own over the dotted line. She was shaking as she signed her name, watching, with great pain, as she finished the curve of the 'N' in Swan.

"There you go. You have my shop. My life. My dreams. You've won," she said bitterly.

Gold rolled up the paper and slipped it inside his jacket, unphased by her grief. "I thank thee kindly, Ms. Swan," he said with a bow as she slammed the door shut.

Emma slumped to the floor, Ruby approaching and sitting beside her.

When Emma began to cry, Ruby wrapped her arms around her friend and rocked her back and forth.

"You'll be okay. You'll make it through this. They think they've won, but you've still got some pawns on the board!"

Emma shook her head, her face was red as a blood orange. "How can you say that? What do I possibly have against them?"

"Well you have your cooking skills and your secret ingredients. You could always run your bakery out of this apartment! And- you have_ that_," Ruby said, pointing at the phone in her friend's hand.

"Hey, guys. I'm still here," came Mary Margaret's voice from the other line.

Emma shook her head again. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Ruby smiled impishly. "Doesn't Mary Margaret's weird phone save her logs and conversations for up to a week?"

"Holy shit," Emma muttered in wonder.

Ruby sat up straight, proud of herself. "Uploading a conversation like that could really damage Golden Delight™'s integrity."

Emma wiped away her tears and stood up, entering her kitchen and prepping it for baking. Her lips twisted into a dark grin. "You're damn right I've still got pawns on the board. Emma Swan doesn't give up without a fight."


End file.
